Villainous teams

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Villainous teams, referred to officially as villainous organizations (Japanese: 悪の組織villainous organizations) or sinister organizations (Japanese: 敵組織villainous organizations; officially secret teams), are criminal terrorist organizations which usually act as the main antagonists in the storylines of Pokémon games. Whatever their goals in their respective games, one thing they all have in common is that they plan on achieving their results through the misuse of Pokémon. Their names generally follow the pattern Team ~ (Japanese: ～団-dan).

Comparisons

Villainous teams in the core series have many aspects in common. Their structure generally includes, in order of rank, a leader, one or more admins, and a number of anonymous grunts. Some teams have additional levels of authority within them, such as Team Flare's scientists, as well as additional members and associated individuals who do not fit into the ladder of authority at all, such as Gladion, who works with Team Skull.

Aside from Pokémon Emerald, each core series game has only one team acting in villainous capacity. Typically, the player character encounters the villainous team many times over the course of their adventure. Typically, they first encounter grunts early in the game, often involved in a small act of villainy unrelated to the team's broader goals. As the player's adventure continues, they meet more of the team's members and uncover more of its secrets and aims, culminating in one or more encounters with the team's boss. Finally, toward the end of the game, the player foils the team's scheme. In most games — with the exception of Pokémon Black and White — this happens before the end of the player's journey to the Pokémon League.

The above refers to the core series games; however, other canons, such as the Pokémon Adventures manga, have created very different interpretations of villainous teams.

Core series

This section is incomplete.Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Manga info of Team Plasma and Team Flare, if any.

Team Rocket members wear black costumes and have a red "R" as their crest. Many variations of the costume have been seen. Their leader is Giovanni.

In the games

In Generation I, Team Rocket often worked to gain money, through methods such as burglary and selling Fossils. Their plans culminated in a hostile takeover of the Silph Corporation building in Saffron City. The gang based their operations in the hidden basement of Celadon's Game Corner.

Initially, Giovanni was the leader of the Viridian Gym. After being defeated by Red/Leaf, he resigned his position and disappeared to train. Team Rocket was disbanded at this time, but isolated groups still operated in the Sevii Islands until they were made aware of Giovanni's departure.

For three years, Team Rocket appeared to be gone completely. However, an underground movement, led by executives from the Sevii Islands, developed in the Johto region. As usual, it began with crimes committed to earn money (such as cutting off Slowpoke tails and selling them at outrageous prices).

As the Johto Team Rocket grew in size, scientists within the group studied radio waves and how they might be used to control Pokémon. From a former ninja base in Mahogany Town, their experiments affected the Magikarp at the Lake of Rage, causing the Pokémon to evolve unnaturally. Although the experiment was stopped by Lance, Team Rocket soon took over the Goldenrod Radio Tower, intending to use its transmitter to affect Pokémon nationwide.

Before putting their plan into action, however, Team Rocket used the tower to instead attempt to contact Giovanni, hoping he would hear their message and return. This gave Ethan/Lyra enough time to infiltrate the besieged Goldenrod and defeat Team Rocket's executives, who again disbanded the group. Some time later, a time traveling Ethan/Lyra from the future fought Giovanni while their present-day counterpart watched the fight. Giovanni vanished after the fight, and Ethan/Lyra returned to their time.

In the anime

Team Rocket has appeared in almost every episode since the second, usually as the bumbling trio Jessie, James, and Meowth, though at times Giovanni as well as other members, such as Butch and Cassidy, will appear. Giovanni made separate attempts to take over Kanto and Unova, failing both times.

In the manga

This section is incomplete.Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: other manga.

Pokémon Adventures

Team Rocket first appear in Pokémon Adventures, when Red and Blue are pursuing Mew in Viridian Forest. They are led by Giovanni, who is portrayed in a much more sinister light than in the anime or games, as with Team Rocket on a whole.

This canon's depiction of Gym Leaders is different from that of the games and anime, who generally depict Gym Leaders as valiant. In the Red, Green & Blue chapter, the three most prominent members of Team Rocket, collectively referred to as the Team Rocket Triad, are Koga, Sabrina and Lt. Surge. Like the other villainous trios, two members of the Team Rocket Triad (Sabrina and Lt. Surge) are true to their original calling (though as opposed to the other villainous trios, for them it is being Gym Leaders, not being members of their Team), while one goes his own way, that being Koga.

For a short time, Blaine worked for Team Rocket, making 5 out of the 8 Kanto Leaders Rocket-affiliated at some point in their life.

As in the games, Giovanni later disbands Team Rocket and shuns the Team Rocket Triad, and the four of them go their separate ways. Team Rocket make a brief comeback aboard the S.S. Aqua, but they are on the whole unsuccessful. Later, however, Pryce, under the guise of the Masked Man, reforms Team Rocket for his own uses. At this point, his most prominent members are Carl, Sham, Karen and Will. Pryce plans to use Team Rocket to gain control of Lugia, Ho-Oh and eventually Celebi, and through that control time in order to save his Lapras's parents. After Gold convinces him to cease his villainous ways, he too disbands Team Rocket.

In the FireRed & LeafGreen chapter, Giovanni once again reforms Team Rocket, the most notable members now being the Three Beasts of Team Rocket. The main aim for Team Rocket is to reunite Giovanni with his son Silver through the use of Deoxys. Like the other villainous trios, two of the Beasts remain true to their original calling as Rockets, those being Orm and Sird, while the other, Carr, goes his own way. In this arc, Silver is intended to inherit Team Rocket, but he instead shuns it.

In the HeartGold & SoulSilver chapter, it was revealed that Carr had taken over Team Rocket and gathered the remaining troops together. His reign of power comes to an abrupt end, however, as the organization is then taken over by the four Rocket Executives, who intend to gather all the Plates and use them to control Arceus. With the unknowing help of Gold, Crystal, and Silver, the Rocket Executives manage to enter the Sinjoh Ruins, where Arceus recreates Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, which Archer intends to be an invincible army for Giovanni. However, when Giovanni arrives with Lance and Pryce, it is revealed that the battle of the three Legendary Pokémon would cause the destruction of both Johto and Sinnoh, as foreseen by Pryce when he was trapped in the time stream. Thanks to Gold opening up to Togebo, Arceus soon calms down the Legendary Pokémon, sending them back to their respective realms. As a reward of his good deed, Celebi then cures Giovanni of his long-time illness, allowing him to return to lead Team Rocket and its rebuilding. Silver still doesn't approve his father's criminal life, intending to stop Team Rocket and convince his father of the error of his ways one day by himself.

In the anime

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

Team Magma wear red jumpsuit outfits, which have been variously interpreted to look like Ninja costumes or similar to an imp. They have a stylized "M", appearing like a volcano, as their team's signature crest. Their leader is Maxie. Team Magma attempts to wake Groudon and expand the land area of the world.

In Pokémon Emerald, Team Magma is first seen in Meteor Falls, but flee when Archie and Team Aqua appear. Like in Ruby and Omega Ruby, they steal the meteorite. They are first fought at Mt. Chimney, and this is the first time Tabitha and Maxie are fought. After fighting Team Aqua, who successfully stole the Red Orb, at Mt. Pyre, the player obtains the Magma Emblem, which was dropped by a grunt when Team Magma stole the Blue Orb, and accesses the hideout. However, in this game, it's located in Jagged Pass instead of being near Lilycove City in Ruby and Omega Ruby. After defeating many grunts and Tabitha, the player witnesses Maxie awaken Groudon, but it flees, and they then fight Maxie for the second time. After earning the Mind Badge, they are fought at the Mossdeep Space Center for the last time. After defeating a few grunts, the player teams up with Steven Stone and defeat Maxie and Tabitha in a Double Battle. They are also seen after Archie awakens Kyogre in the Seafloor Cavern and is defeated by the player. The two leaders are in Sootopolis City until Rayquaza stops the fight between Kyogre and Groudon. After that, they are seen returning the respective orbs to Mt. Pyre.

In the anime

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

Galactic Grunts wear black and white jumpsuits that vaguely resemble spacesuits and wear their hair in teal bowl cuts. Their leader is Cyrus, who wishes to create a new universe by awakening Dialga and*/or*Palkia. Their team's crest is a stylized letter "G" (possibly resembling a spiral galaxy). Whereas the other teams usually have large logos on their uniforms, Team Galactic's logos are small, being barely visible on their battle sprites.

In Platinum, once the player has access to Stark Mountain, Mars and Jupiter are seen at Stark Mountain with Charon attempting to use the power of Heatran, but after being defeated, they leave the team, and Charon is arrested, leaving Saturn as the only Team Galactic Commander still part of the team.

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!

Like in the games, the team is led by Cyrus. The team essentially has the same goal as in the games, but it was possible that the Commanders did not know about the absolute plan of their leader, since Mars was shocked when Cyrus revealed that his ultimate goal was to create the universe and all of its life fully anew. Hareta, with the help of Mitsumi, a former member, and the Gym Leaders, managed to stop him. Later, Charon became the new leader and tried to capture Heatran. Mars and Jupiter left on a search to find Cyrus and were treated as deserters.

One of the most distinctive characters of the team is B-2, a grunt who has swollen buttocks due to Hareta biting him when they first met.

Team Plasma is the villainous team of the Unova region. Originally, the grunts wore a costume that resembles a knight's armor, while the Seven Sages wore robes. Their objective is to separate humanity from Pokémon. Their leader is N, although the team is being used to further the goals of his adopted father, Ghetsis. After this is discovered, the members of Team Plasma that support Ghetsis change their uniform to be more similar to pirates, while those that support N remain in the old uniform. Their crest is the letters P and Z combined together, looking like the Chi Rho.

In the games

Team Plasma appears in various locations. In Pokémon Black and White, their leader, N, is encountered very early in the game and is battled in many of Team Plasma's appearances. Eventually, N is able to gain control of ZekromB/ReshiramW, and defeats the champion Alder. After the player captures the other Legendary Pokémon and defeats N, Ghetsis reveals his true plans, battling the hero himself. After his defeat and arrest, Looker will ask the player to help him round up the remaining Sages.

In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, Team Plasma has split into two different factions. One of the factions consists of the few members of Team Plasma that are still loyal to N. The other faction, known as the new Team Plasma, is led by Colress. This faction is not attempting to release Pokémon, but instead take over Unova. They intend to accomplish this new goal by freezing the region and stealing all of the region's Pokémon. Having escaped from custody, Ghetsis once again reveals himself to be the true mastermind behind Team Plasma's actions.

The reformed members and N help the player against new Team Plasma, culminating in the defeat of Colress and Ghetsis — the latter controlling Kyurem. Following this, Colress officially disbands Team Plasma, retiring to P2 Laboratory. Ghetsis, having snapped and lost heart upon seeing his plans foiled, is taken away by the Shadow Triad, never to be seen again.

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

Team Flare is the villainous team of the Kalos region. Team Flare Grunt's uniform is a mafia styled red suit, while Admins wear more stylized white suits and Scientists wear red suits of varying designs. Their symbol is a flaming letter F.

In the games

At first, Team Flare's goal is claimed to be making the world "beautiful" with style and lots of money. Despite their claims, several grunts and even their leader Lysandre confirm that they seek a world benefiting only those within Team Flare, disregarding anybody else. Team Flare attempted to make money by stealing and selling Fossils. They also siphoned energy from the Kalos Power Plant, and later on stole Poké Balls from the Poké Ball Factory.

It is eventually revealed that Team Flare's true plan is to use the ancient Ultimate Weapon in order to obliterate all life except themselves and start anew, as Lysandre no longer sees a bright future for the current society — which, in his words, has grown to an unsustainable level and is doomed by "unproductive fools" consuming the planet's limited resources. At this point, it is explained that all their actions were preparations to this goal: the energy from the Power Plant was needed to reactivate the weapon, and the large number of Pokémon was needed to feed it, as it is powered by their life energies.

After the player has defeated the Elite Four and the Champion, the player is tasked by Looker to help him solve a series of crimes related to a person known as Essentia, which would be revealed to be the result of experiments by Xerosic, one of Team Flare's scientists.

In the anime, Team Flare hatches a plan to capture the Legendary Pokémon, Zygarde, which is first revealed in From A to Z!. However, they fail in doing so as it escapes. The team are after two of the Zygarde Cores, code-named Z1 and Z2. In Meeting at Terminus Cave!, Team Flare were able to locate Z2 while it and Z1 were communicating, and Mable and Aliana proceeded to go after Z2. After discovering that Z1 had joined Ash and his friends, they began following the group to capture it, and were seen on numerous occasions. Team Flare Admins, along with Xerosic, began their experiments on an island using the power of Zygarde Cells to mutate trees, which Xerosic declared was a success. Locating Z2, Aliana and Mable, along with Team Flare Grunts, were able to capture Z2 with the help of Alain and his Charizard, allowing Xerosic to later experiment on it.

In Kalos League Passion with a Certain Flare!, on the night before the Lumiose Conference's final round, Team Flare, reaching the final stages of their plan, made their way to the Prism Tower to begin setting up their equipment. At the end of Down to the Fiery Finish!, Lysandre arrived at Prism Tower and ordered Z2 to show him its power as he put his plan into motion. In A Towering Takeover!, Lysandre televised a message to the citizens of Kalos, describing his plan to create a new, beautiful world by destroying the one they currently live in. Team Flare's plot was ultimately foiled in Forming a More Perfect Union!, after Z2 was freed from its control and Team Flare's Giant Rock destroyed. Lysandre's fate was unclear after he was engulfed in the same explosion that destroyed the Giant Rock, while the other members were eventually arrested.

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

Team Skull is the primary villainous team of the Alola region. The grunts' black-and-white uniforms are inspired by street gangs, and consist of sneakers, shorts, wrist bands, tank tops, bandannas used to cover the lower face, and berets that resemble the tops of skulls. Their symbol is a stylized letter S in the shape of a skull, which is worn as a medallion.

In the games

Team Skull's intentions are to simply make enough money to survive. They have a history of disrupting island challenge events. The team's leader, Guzma, once attempted the island challenge and failed. He is acquainted with Professor Kukui. Plumeria, an Admin, is considered the "big sister" of the team and cares for the grunts, calling them her "cute, dumb brothers and sisters". It is eventually revealed by some of their members that the organization is composed of other people who also failed their island challenge. Their enforcer, Gladion, is the son of Aether President Lusamine and joined their team to become stronger, though the grunts do not consider him a real member of their team. Their base is located in Po Town.

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

Team Rainbow Rocket is a villainous team that appears in the Alola region. Members wear black uniforms that are similar to those worn by the original Team Rocket, but the red "R" logo on the uniform's front has been replaced by a rainbow "R" logo.

In the games

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team, Team Meanies is the enemy team. They harass the player and their partner many times, including stealing their personal rescue missions and attacking them. Eventually, the player has to rescue one of the members, and the leader of the team asks for help.

In the anime

In the games

Team Skull is a team of Pokémon in the second pair of Mystery Dungeon games. It is made up of Skuntank, Koffing, and Zubat. They frequently harass the player's team, until Brine Cave, where Skuntank is injured. The two teams finally make up, and Team Skull is never seen again.

In the anime

Team Skull has not appeared in the anime.

In the manga

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blazing Exploration Team

Only Koffing and Zubat have appeared in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blazing Exploration Team.

In the manga

In the games

The Pokémon Pinchers are a villainous team based in the Oblivia region, appearing in Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs. Their leaders are the Societea, four people who wish to extend their lives with the Golden Armor and rule the world.

For Archie and Maxie, the background resembles a whirlpool or a volcano, respectively, while both battles take place in the Seafloor Cavern. Even if water and magma are featured in the chamber they are faced, they are battled on solid land. For the purposes of moves that vary with environment and Burmy, it is treated as the default plain terrain.